Friday, September 20, 2013

Dan Dan the shoe shine man
approached us in a crowd. He said, “I’m Dan Dan the shoe shine man. I’ll shine
your shoes. I bet I can guess where you got your shoes.” From his demeanor and appearance,
Dan Dan the shoe shine man seemed street smart and determined. He spoke quickly
and smiled wide. He implored to my husband, “You need a shoe shine! I bet I can
tell you where you got your shoes. $10.00 a shoe if I tell you where you got
them!” My husband smiled waiting for Dan to tell us where his shoes were from
as he bent down to spray and buff his sneakers. Dan stood up tall and proud and
said, “You Sir has your shoes on your feet! That will be $20.00!”

As soon as my husband handed
Dan Dan the shoe shine man his $20.00 he was gone into the crowd. Dan was a few
dollars richer and we both were a little more street smart. Dan Dan the shoe
shine man (and his muscular buddy who was watching from a few feet away to
assure he got his payment), were devoted to their task of making money – even if trickery was needed to get the job done.

The manager in the lesson in Luke 16:1-13 is not getting his job done. He wanted to keep his job, be liked by the people
that he had to collect money from, and make profit. This manager was
being stretched in too many directions and has too many masters. He was caught behind the eight ball between his job, his boss and his clients. The land owner
wanted what was owed to him, the people in debt wanted to be free from their
burden, and the manager did not want to lose his job or place in society.

Jesus ends this parable with
this statement: “No slave can serve two
masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

All of the people in this
parable owed something or were owned by things. The landowner had to keep on top
of his possessions, the manager had to answer to his boss and collect from his
clients, and the clients owed everyone everything. What was possessed or owed was
a source of slavery.

Serving things leads to
slavery, but serving God leads to freedom. No matter our role in life, we all
are in a position of needing God’s grace and forgiveness. Through the death and
resurrection of Jesus, God has covered our debts of sin and allows us to live
life in his abundant grace and forgiveness. This Gospel lesson calls us to
evaluate the “masters” that direct our lives, but does not stop there. In this
space of God’s grace and forgiveness we are also called to be wise and generous
with our God-given gifts, talents and resources. We, who have received much,
have much to give.

When my youngest child was
born twenty years ago, she was required to stay in the hospital for about five
days. While her condition was not life-threatening, I was determined to stay by
her side until she was released from the hospital. When the nurses noticed I
was greatly distressed in being discharged three days before my baby, they
informed me that there was an onsite parent “hotel” where I could stay for a
small fee. At that point, I did not have extra resources to pay the hotel fee, but
by the encouragement of the nurses, I picked up my bag and moved just down the
hall to the parent “hotel”. Days passed and my daughter was discharged in a few
days. I was happy we were on our way home, but continued to worry about the “hotel
debt” that was owed. Once again, the nurses told me not to worry and to go home
and enjoy my new, happy and healthy baby.

A bill never came for the “parent
hotel”. To this day, I don’t know who paid it. But in a time of great stress
and challenge the fact that my debt was paid was a great comfort. A person, who
had some,
gave some
to help me.

In our world, we often
expect to be caught off guard by tricks like the one Dan Dan the shoe shine man
played on my husband and I. Street corner shell games become what we expect to
encounter. From a human perspective, shells are used to hide a prize in a gamble.
At baptism, a shell shaped bowl is used to pour water over the candidate. The
shell of baptism reminds us that God is not playing a shell game with us. God
gives good gifts and calls us to share ours as well.

For the parent hotel patron –
their gift was compassion. For the landowner – his gift was resources. For the
manager – his gift was ingenuity. For the tenants – their gift was hospitality.
For Dan Dan the shoe shine man – his gift was wit and charisma. The gifts God
gives can be used shrewdly for personal gain, but as “children of the light” we
are called to use our gifts to extend grace, care and freedom to all people.
May God help us to be faithful in what we are given, because giving His gift is
no gamble at all.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Over the last 6 months, I've been following Abby of the Arts in hopes of becoming more in step with their practices described as the "Monk Manifesto". While I don't always (or even often) seem to get the steps right, my heart is always uplifted when I stop by for a visit. These practices, first introduced to me in Christine Valters Painter's book, "The Artist's Rule" resound within me and shout,"This is lifegiving!". But, somehow, I continue to struggle, juggle and fret - when I walk away from this gentle, growing, faith.

Maybe if we walk/dance together, I won't wander away so easily?

Then again, each day - "Always we begin again."

Shalom -

Tara

The following material is from the website: Abby of the Arts. Now all I need is a badge to put here on my blog to keep me (and others) tagged in on the Abby.

Share the monk love with others by sharing this page with others on Facebook or Twitter.

Monk: from the Greek monachos meaning single or solitary, a monk in the world does not live apart but immersed in the everyday with a single-hearted and undivided presence, always striving for greater wholeness and integrity

Manifesto: from the Latin for clear, means a public declaration of principles and intentions.

Monk Manifesto: A public expression of your commitment to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.

1. I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.

2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.

3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.

4. I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.

5. I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.

6. I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do.

7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

There is a passage lush with moss,damp from morning dew that calls me to step across the threshold into something new. The things I've known catch on my sleeves and pant legs like prickers on already harvested black berry bushes. They pull, scratch, and demand I stay past the harvest; to only see glimpses of cool green just beyond gate. I've peeked over the wall to that garden, and it looks like a place I might want to call home; if only there was time to make it just that - home.

It's no mistake that the grass is sometimes greener. I've seen that cool, restful plot and laid my hope in that space that separates me from what is and what is yet to be. The gate is unlocked, yet I keep thinking I'm left outside of this garden. Moving heart-heavy feet across the green to the greener can take some effort. Just beyond that threshold is all the new, the in-progress, and not quite comfortable yet. Inhale. Exhale.

Lift a left foot, then the right. Step by step, grace is leading the way across the green threshold - tonight.

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Things I wish I had said...

"I am not afraid, I was born to do this. Joan of Arc

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope." - M. Luther

Call on God, but row away from the rocks. - Indian Proverb

If it can be verified, we don't need faith... Faith is for that which lies on the other side of reason. Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys. - Madeline L'Engle